1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a connector that conductively connects a flat conductor and a circuit board.
2. Description of the Related Art
Connectors conventionally used in electronic apparatuses are mounted on a circuit board to conductively connect the circuit board to, for example, a flexible printed circuit (FPC) or a flexible flat cable (FFC) (referred to as a “flat conductor” in the specification and the claims). These connectors are installed in a lot of electronic apparatuses because they can connect an apparatus inner unit, such as a computer or a liquid crystal display, to the circuit board.
As such a connector, for example, Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2011-222141 discloses a connector including a lock mechanism that fixes a flat conductor to the connector by engaging with engaging recesses provided in side edges of the flat conductor extending in the inserting direction of the flat conductor, that is, in the longitudinal direction of the flat conductor. To pull out the flat conductor from the connector, first, a lock part is operated to disengage from the engaging recesses of the flat conductor. Then, the flat conductor can be pulled out from the connector by being pulled in this state.
However, when pulling out the flat conductor from the connector having such a lock mechanism, the operator sometimes makes a mistake in the operation and pulls the flat conductor without releasing the lock or without sufficiently releasing the lock. In this case, in the above-described connector, projections are caught by projecting piece parts closer to the distal end than the engaging recesses. When further force is applied in this state, rupture may occur in root portions of the projecting piece parts. If the projecting piece parts are torn by the pulling force, they remain inside the connector and touch the flat conductor and terminals. This may cause connection failure.